Say goodbye to Vancouver

My last day here - I am packed and ready to go. Derek is at the venue like always.

The US Teams finally got some wins yesterday - so that's good.

The crowds in the venue are crazy and sometimes obnoxious. They've started cheering for missed shots by the team playing the Canadians - bad form. And when Madeline Dupont was taking her last shot in the 10th (where she could have won the game) they were deafeningly loud. I don't know how anyone could concentrate in that havoc! It's not good curling form - but I guess that's what happens when you bring a sport into the Olympics - lots of spectators don't have a clue about curling and nationalism takes a on whole new kind of fervor. At this point, it seems like the crowd should be listed as the 5th player for the Canadian teams. Although admittedly, sometimes they are loud and raucous as the Canadians are shooting too - I think they believe that they are revving the person up.

It's been a great trip - the first weekend was amazing. The week was ok - less fun as I had to do work, Derek was gone from 7am to 11pm, and I mostly sat alone at the curling venue when I had tix. But still a neat experience.

The crowds have grown - I think more people come for the second week than the first. Walked around downtown again yesterday and there were massive line for everything - too much for me. There are a lot of pavilions here for different countries, for different provinces, for sponsors - but I didn't really go into any of them because I didn't feel like waiting in line.

Vancouver is a beautiful city - I highly recommend it to anyone to visit or to live in. Great scenery, great walking city, fun places to hang out.

The Malkins arrive today - so maybe someone can convince them to blog...

Day 6 Vancouver

Saw the afternoon draw (US men vs Switzerland). Man did they start out bad - I couldn't believe how much they were struggling. But somehow they managed to turn it around and even get the lead. I thought for sure that they would finish it off and win. I even thought John had made his draw in the 10th (let go a little cheer). Ugh. Heartbreaking for them - this has to be so hard to be so close and keep losing the games.

The crowd was much more international - lots of clumps of Swiss fans (Hop Swiss - or whatever they say), British fans, and a few French fans (ok one lone flag in the upper corner...).

Day 5 Vancouver

Derek was off to the venue at 6:30am

I spent much of the day working and watching coverage at the hotel

I had tix to the evening draw (USA v Norway, China v France, and Canada v Germany)

The crowd was crazy rambunctious, more of a hockey crowd, and surprisingly unknowledgeable about curling, despite being 90% Canadian (a sea of red out there). I was surrounded by Canadians but none of the people sitting around me knew anything about curling. I heard questions like: Are those people sitting behind the sheet (the coaches) the judges? I think there's judges in curling (um, no). Which country is favored to win the the gold in men's curling (uh, yours, doh).

Ok - I admit it, I'm a little bitter about the Canadian crowd. They were crazy loud - which was fine. They were crazy partisan - which was fine (they went crazy for every shot the Canadian team made - even ones that were straightforward like an open takeout or ones that weren't exactly what the team wanted). But when a few USA fans started cheering U-S-A, the Canadian fans starting cheering against the USA and doing Norway cheers. Obnoxious. It's not like we didn't sit through 2 hours of hearing Ca-na-da and other Canadian cheers. We didn't start leading cheers for Germany. One thing - at least no one cheered for missed shots.

Well - not a good day for our curling teams and not a great day for me. Hopefully today will be better.

Day 4 Vancouver

Nothing much today

Derek spent all day working at the venue - I think they did a dress rehearsal and other stuff. Saw Kevin Martin's team practicing among others.

Only notable thing on my side was going to the Victory Ceremony. We got to see Alex Bilodeaux get his gold medal - the first Canadian to win gold at home. The place erupted and went crazy. So that was a really neat moment. Plus there was an American - Bryon Davis - who won the bronze. We also saw several other medal ceremonies - but they were all at Whistler - so they were just being broadcast into BC Place where we were.

Curling starts today - Derek had a pick up at 6:30am and will be working, I imagine, until like 10:30-11pm. That's probably his life from now until the end. I've got tix to the evening draw - but until then will be working in the hotel room (with CTV on in the background to watch the curling).

Day 3 - Vancouver

Derek had a late morning - his pick up was at 11:30am - but then he was there all day until ~7pm. Amongst other things, he watched some of the teams practice - first practices on Olympic ice. One thing to look out for - the Norwegian men are wearing some crazy pants. Very loud, checked pants - blinding in some ways. Apparently they have two different styles. There may have to be a pants rule after this... :)

I had my encounter with Spinnaker the Pacific white-sided dolphin. Amazing!!! Got to feed him, rub him, "train" him - okay maybe they were training me, and learn all kinds of things. Like the difference between baleen whales and tooth whales (dolphins are tooth whales).

Took a long (really long) walk along the Stanley Park seawall to get back to the skytrain stop downtown (the bus was really unreliable).

Then hustled out to the Richmond Curling Club to teach curling! Ok - this was like the perfect storm - I arrived, no one there knew anything about what was going on, there was no one else there from the USCA, I never got pants to curl in - so I had to curl in my jeans (which are not loose enough to curl in), and it turns out that the CNBC crew was there videotaping a segment to air - not just learning to curl for fun. Yup - pretty much pushed every button I have about being in a situation I can't control that has a high potential for me to end up feeling humiliated.

But it ended up going okay - I managed to slide out in my too-big borrowed shoes and too-tight jeans and not kill myself (plus I got an agreement from the cameraman that if I fell, he wouldn't show it :) ). Taught two reporters to curl - they really hammed it up. So - look for it on CNBC. If you think I look and sound like an idiot - don't tell me...

Ended up having dinner and drinks with Rick Patzke, Terry Kolesar, and Dan Fields (?) of the USCA. Plus - Derek and Kellie Krake got released earlier than expected from their duties - so they joined us as well. We watched the Simpson's curling episode (no sound though) at the bar, too.

Dykes Ending

The Nutmeg teams put up a good showing last night with Nutmeg II winning their quarter final game to play in the third event semi's today. Nutmeg I & III ended up losing their third event quarter final games late last night.

This morning Nutmeg IV lost their second event semi game and Nutmeg II lost their third event semi game.

All in all we had a great time and experience playing the competition and being there to support eachother. Hopefully some of us (and new Nutmeggers) will be playing in it again next year and we'll be able to make it to the finals to win the events :)

Day 2 from Vancouver

We had a great day in Vancouver. Derek was off at 8:30am to the curling venue. Production meetings, tests, meeting the "talent," saw the inside of the curling venue, etc. He will be supporting Don Duguid, Colleen Jones, and Andrew Catalan. Elfi Schlegel is also there - so Derek got to meet and hang out with her too (he says he's in with her because he told her how to get free chocolate at the Swiss house). In the afternoon, he went to the International Broadcasting Center downtown to pick up his computer and some other stuff. He got to walk right up to the Olympic cauldron and get some pics - very cool.

In the meantime - I got up early and went to the Olympic Superstore first thing. Got my credit card declined so had to sort that out - I guess they didn't like the fact that we were in Vancouver. When I got outside - there was a protest going on (I have no idea what they were protesting). Right as it got to where I was standing - these guys grabbed the newspaper boxes and threw them into the streets. Then this one guy was holding a rock or something and came up right beside me (like 3 ft away) and starting smashing in the display window of The Bay!! My eyes got real wide and I started walking quickly in the other direction. Lots of tourists/spectators were just standing around. About a block away - I saw the riot police marching towards them in formation. Crazy! And it was only 10am!

I walked down to Yaletown, took the False Creek Ferry to Granville Island (literally the smallest ferry I've ever seen) and checked out Granville Island. Very cool place - amazing public market, neat shops - lots of fun.

Met up with Jennifer and J Atkinson out in Richmond (they were watching speedskating) - and saw the Dutch mob at the Heineken House - a Dutch guy (Kramer) had just one speedskating gold. So no way were we going to be able to get into there. Picked up Derek at the hotel and went to a nearby bar and then onto Granville Island for dinner.

Today - Derek gets picked up at 11:30 and will be out all day. I'm off to the Aquarium for a Dolphin Encounter (go Flipper!) and then I got suckered into teaching some CNBC'ers how to curl this afternoon. Borrowed shoes, borrowed pants - hey, Elly was great when she did this - so hopefully I'll do ok.

Weekend update

Team Purkey loses out in the 2nd event at Schenectady. Team Muldowney plays later tonight. This is the USWCA National Bonspiel.

At the Dykes in Broomstones, Team Mayne advances to the 2nd event semi finals on Sunday Morning. Teams Aulenti, Leneker and Bertonica all playing late tonight in the 3rd event quarter finals. All three are in separate games so all could get to the semis.

GO NUTMEG!

Hello from Vancouver

Hi everyone! Jeff asked us to blog a little from Vancouver - so I guess the task will fall to me. Derek actually can't blog, tweet, etc as his NBC contract has a ban on that.

First of all - good luck to all the Nutmeg teams at the Dykes and at the USWCA - we're pulling for you from out here!

Yesterday was a super-long travel day for me. Metro-north to the city, bus to JFK, flight to Seattle, bus (long bus ride) to Vancouver. Ugh! But I'm here. Derek - with his costs paid by NBC - got to arrive much earlier and directly into Vancouver. He got his accreditation validated, sped through immigration (separate line for those working) and got a shuttle to the hotel. He got to hang out at the O-zone in Richmond with some friends of ours. The O-zone is a spectator fun area for the Olympics - there are a couple set up. Having not been to one, I can't say what's in there - except to say that they didn't get into the Heineken house - I guess it was too full :(.

Our hotel is in the city center - and we can see the Olympic stadium from our window. Lots of NBC types and curling officials staying here. Although I guess the "talent" (lingo? for the announcers) are staying at a different, nicer hotel. That's ok.

Derek is catching a bus at 8:30am this morning to the venue - they have a meeting and then a dress rehearsal. Then he picks up his computer (they also gave him a cell phone). I am off to go shopping to buy something special for my birthday at the Olympic Superstore. Then I think I'll explore Granville Island, Yaletown, and other places. I'm going to catch up with some friends (Jennifer Kungle and J Atkinson from Potomac) later to celebrate.

Hope all is well out there and that the first Olympic experience goes smashingly! I'd say I wish I were there helping - but I already lived through the 2000+ people at an open house at Potomac - so I think I've paid my dues :)

Til tomorrow!

Dykes Update

Nutmeg I ended up losing this evening so they play Sat morning @ 7am in the third event draw, Nutmeg IV with their win today play Sat @ 9:15am still in the second event draw, Nutmeg II with their loss today play Sat @ 1:45pm still in the third event draw, Nutmeg III remains alive in the third event draw winning their game tonight with a shake after 6 ends to play again Sat @ 4:00pm.

All games Sat onward are loser out so wish wins for each of our teams or even come on up to see them play.

Teams: Nutmeg I = Frank, Alph, Jack, & Lee; Nutmeg II = Joel, Chris, Karl, & Don; Nutmeg III = Matt, Mark, Nigel, & Kyle; Nutmeg IV = Sean, Mike, Dave, & Jon

Nutmeg @ The Dykes 2010

A quick update on the status: All of us played our first draws yesterday - Nutmeg III came back to tie in the 8th end forcing an extra end which they lost, Nutmeg IV also lost their first game. Nutmeg I & II won.

Today more mixed results: Nutmeg III had the first draw of the day at 7am which came down to the last shot of the last end which gave the Cape Cod team the point for the win so now Nutmeg III waits to play at 10:45pm tonight - wish them a win otherwise they're out. Nutmeg II lost their second game and are now in the 3rd event scramble playing tomorrow. Nutmeg IV won their game to remain in the second event draws. Nutmeg I are playing on the ice now.

Nutmeg weekend

Nutmeg at the USWCA National bonspiel in Schenectady. Both teams are in the second event with a chance to meet in the final. Good luck to them.

The Dykes is more complicated. Four teams are there. All are still alive. Frank Aulenti still in the first event. Sean Mayne in the second event. Joel and Matt are in the third event.

First Olympic related curling experience goes off tomorrow. The website generated about 50 people signed up to attend. If we can grab 10 of those people as members that would be great.

Nutmeg everywhere

A very busy weekend for Nutmeg curlers. Four teams are at Broomstones for the Dykes 5 & under bonspiel. Two teams are in Schenectady for the USWCA National Bonspiel. Derek and Charrissa are off to Vancouver and the Olympics. Derek will be working with the NBC broadcast team doing stats and such.

Those left in CT will be busy with the first of the Olympic open houses which will be this Saturday at Noon.

Both Broomstones and Schenectady are posting results on their websites.

Derek day two at the Challenge Round

A little better than the first as they got a win in game one but a picked rock on a draw in the second game was the undoing. Eighth end and behind by one with the hammer. Derek has a draw against three and his rock picks and stops dead. Steal of 3 for the other team and just too big a hole, too late to climb out.

They still have a chance as the field is well bunched but need to win the remaining three games and get some help. Two more games on Saturday and the final round robin game on Sunday.

Tough day one for Derek

It was a very tough day for the Derek and team. Two losses in the first two games. From the on-site reports sounds like the first game was a very good one and the second was not.

A bounce back today with two wins will put them in good position for the weekend. Here is an excerpt from someone who was there.

(from Ben Tucker, ND curler and internet friend)
Draw One saw the best two teams playing against each other on Sheet 3. Farbelow, with the addition of Eric Fenson throwing second stone and vice skipping, looked very much the team that the top teams in the nation would not like to play. The were matched rock for rock, truth be told, by the Surka rink. All eight players were above 80%. I didn't keep stats, but I know 80% when I see it. Great game, won by Farbelow. If it was a semi final at Nationals, we would all be proud.

(game 2)
Sheet 2 saw the wheels come off the Surka Express. They could not make a rock do anything according to plan. Stephen Colbert's remote controll rock was sorely needed but nowhere in sight.

Derek tries for a second National championship

Starting today in Grafton, ND (current temp 11) Derek with Sean (from the mixed champions), Tim and Paul (both from Broomstones) will try to win their way into the Nationals. This is the second round of playdowns, the challenge round. Eight teams will play a round robin and the top three will advance to the Men's National Championship with 7 other teams. In the Nationals the ten teams will again play a round robin with the winner representing the US in the Worlds.

Results will be posted here and here.

Hopefully some direct reports will also be posted to this blog by Charrissa or check out Facebook for updates from Derek and Sean.

Jeff

GNCC Mixed Championship wrap-up

It all came down to the final game on Sunday at 2pm. Team Surka (Derek, Charrissa, Sean and Rachel) versus Team Mellerup (Dennis,Janice, Dan and Joyance with Elly Bockley as a fifth*). When the ice chips cleared, Team Surka was the winner for the third straight year. They are now off to Chicago for the Mixed Nationals.

* So how did Elly end up on this team from Ardsley? Well, in the Saturday afternoon game, Joyance went down hard while sweeping a rock. After quite a long break to check her out and fix up the ice, the team needed to find a sub. For mixed championships there are rules that a team must have 4 players and a sub must be from the host club. Elly happened to be there at the time as an official. So, she borrowed some curling shoes and clothes and went in to finish the game which Dennis won. Joyance headed for the hospital to get checked out further and Elly played in the final round robin game on Saturday night. This was the first of three games of Derek playing Dennis.

Derek won that game to finish at 4-0 after the round robin. Dennis was 3-1 which dictated a tie break game on Sunday morning. There is a double knockout provision in the championship as well, a team must lost two games to be eliminated. Joyance returned for play on Sunday and Dennis won that first tie break game. This resulted in a third Derek/Dennis match up. Derek was up two without the hammer in the tenth end and ran Dennis out of rocks to win the game.

All three games played between these two teams were great examples of shotmaking and skill.

And in the no rest for the weary category, Derek and Sean are off to North Dakota this weekend for the Men's Challenge round. Three teams will come out of that competition to play in the National Championship for the right to represent the USA in the Worlds. That competion starts on Thursday.

Jeff